JNU bandh

A large number of students gathered at the Ganga dhaba late last night as the news of the rustication of Batti Lal Bairwa, the JNUSU president, and Manoj Purohit, a student of M.Phil and an office bearer of the Students Federation of India (SFI) spread in the campus.

According to an eyewitness, more than 250 students marched peacefully to the Vice-Chancellor Prof Ashish Datta’s residence wanting to speak to him about the rustication. The students say they reached his house and “through democratic means” tried to speak to him. But he refused to meet them.

Here the versions of the students and the university authorities vary. While the studentsinsist they peacefully entered his residential compound, the authorities requesting anonymity say the students barged in breaking things.

The police was called and a large police contingent reached the campus barricading the V-C’s residence. The students began chanting slogans against the police and the V-C’s highhandedness. Some of the teachers reportedly rushed to the spot to ensure that no untoward incident occurred.

A section of the students had called for a bandh today, which they said was successful with the teachers and the karamcharis joining in. Political groups, meanwhile, tried to give a caste colour to the crisis saying the first Dalit president of JNUSU had been victimised.

Meanwhile, heavy police bandobast has been made on the campus to prevent any untoward incident.

The student community is, however, divided, with the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) insisting they are not a part of the agitation.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has criticised the highly vindictive andmotivated action “of the JNU V-C in rusticating the first Dalit president of JNUSU as well as the unit secretary of the SFI.”

The Central Executive committee of the SFI condemned the rustication and the massive police presence on the campus.